In a rare and recent piece of good news for the company, publisher Electronic Arts today received a vote of confidence from none other than the single nicest man on the internet, British comedian Stephen Fry.

The TV, film and documentary legend has thrown his significant online clout (the man has over 4 million Twitter followers) behind a campaign being staged by All Out, an international organisation seeking to increase awareness and tolerance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people around the world.

The past year has seen a great deal of discussion about the existence of same-sex romance options…
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"If you do 0 else today, do join me and @Yoda to help game-maker @ea stand strong against anti gay hate & the dark side", Fry Tweeted earlier this morning, urging people to sign a petition All Out (and Yoda) have put together. That petition reads:

Dear friend,

This is no joke: Electronic Arts (EA), one of the biggest video game companies in the world, and maker of the highly popular Star Wars: The Old Republic video game - is the target of a boycott orchestrated by hateful anti-gay groups. As we speak thousands of anti-gay letters are flooding their headquarters, threatening to push the company and its staff to the dark side ("Homos are ruining gaming!" wrote one boycotter.)

Why? Because they had the courage to give players around the world the option of including a gay romance storyline in their interactive Star Wars game.

I just signed this letter from All Out (and Master Yoda!) asking Electronic Arts staff to stay strong and resist the dark forces of homophobia. The more of us that let the company know they're doing the right thing, the more support they'll have in continuing to resist the dark side. Sign now, and tell your friends about this important campaign"

www.allout.org/theforce

So, yeah, an internet petition. Hardly a million boots on the street, and it won't take all the shine off the fact it was voted America's worst company in a recent online poll, but if anyone at EA needed something positive to start their working week with, there you have it. A very nice man thinks two of your games are doing something important.